Mr. Walz thanked Warren Township for adding the following Advisory Question to the ballot: “Should the United States Constitution be amended to clearly state that only individual persons, and not corporations, associations, or any other organizational entities, are entitled to the rights enumerated in the Constitution?”

He said 24,000 voted on the question and 16,000 were in favor and 8000 were against.

B. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA

It was moved by Trustee Balmes, seconded by Trustee Schwarz to approve the Consent Agenda as presented.

Roll call,

AYE: 6- Garner, Balmes, Morris, Schwarz, Ross, Park NAY: 0- None

ABSENT: 0- None

Motion Carried.

C. CONSENT AGENDA / OMNIBUS VOTE

The Village Administrator read the consent agenda for an omnibus vote as follows:

1. Approval of the minutes from the November 19, 2012 Village Board meeting.

Mr. Ziegler said when our ISO Rating was dropped the Village was given 12 months to rectify the situation. He said since that time the Village has adopted new codes and, upon re-evaluation, the Village was able to get the ISO Rating back to where it was before. He said the Village currently has an ISO Rating of 4 for Commercial and 5 for Residential. He added the Building Department was able to do this with 2.5 less employees.

Mayor Kovarik thanked the Building Department and said it was well worth their effort.

Mr. Muetz said GolfVisions will be managing Bittersweet Golf Course for the Village starting December 3rd. He said the liquor license currently issued for alcohol sales at the course must be switched over to the new manager. Dirk Skelley of GolfVisions will serve as the general manager for Bittersweet, therefore it is appropriate to issue the license to him. He said this is the same classification held by Starbird when it managed the course. As we are simply transferring a license, the Municipal Code does not need to be amended, rather, simple approval by the Village Board is sufficient. The Police Department background check has come back clear and it sees nothing to preclude the issuance of the license.

Trustee Morris asked if the liquor license includes sales on the golf course.

Mr. Muetz said yes it would include the beverage cart.

Trustee Morris asked about outdoor events.

Mr. Muetz said this license would include the sale of any alcohol on the property.

It was moved by Trustee Morris, seconded by Trustee Park to approve of granting a Class 1 Liquor License to Dirk Skelley to operate Bittersweet Golf Course – 875 Almond Road.

Roll call,

AYE: 6- Garner, Balmes, Morris, Schwarz, Ross, Park NAY: 0- None

ABSENT: 0- None

Motion Carried.

2. Approval of Ord. 2012 -89 granting a Special Use Permit pursuant to the Gurnee Zoning Ordinance relating to a pet (dog) day care facility at 3880 Grove Avenue.

Mr. Muetz said on November 7th the Planning and Zoning Board (PZB) considered a request for a Special Use Permit to operate a pet day care facility at 3880 Grove Avenue. The petitioner is proposing to utilize the existing 5,800 square foot building to provide dog daycare and overnight boarding, as well as offer grooming, pet supplies and possibly obedience training. While the PZB is forwarding a favorable (5-1) recommendation, it did place 7 conditions on the request aimed at limiting the number of dogs onsite during the day and overnight hours, the number outside at any given time, and controlling noise to name a few. He said additionally, there were concerns regarding on-site parking and traffic flow, and as such, the PZB required that if parking becomes an issue the petitioner will appear before the Board to remedy the situation.

Mr. Muetz said the Petitioner was here tonight to answer any questions.

Mr. Layne Pollard introduced himself to the Board and said Mr. Muetz summed up the request very well and will answer any questions.

Mayor Kovarik asked if this is a franchise.

Mr. Pollard said yes.

Trustee Balmes asked if this was a new location.

Mr. Pollard said yes.

Trustee Park asked why there is a limit on how many dogs can stay the night.

Ms. Velkover said because that is what the petitioner asked for.

Trustee Park said if a parking issue does arise and the petitioner has to go back to the Planning and Zoning Board how much more parking can be developed at this location.

Ms. Velkover said if the petitioner eliminated one of the dog holding areas the parking lot could double in space. She said the other way would be to reduce the number of dogs allowed on the premises and that would in turn reduce the number of employees that need to park.

Trustee Park asked the petitioner if he was fine with these conditions.

Mr. Pollard said yes.

Trustee Garner said so it is possible to have 40 dogs in one play area.

Mr. Pollard said if he had that many dogs he would also have 3 employees watching them.

Trustee Garner said that seems like a lot of chaos and asked what would happen if trouble broke out.

Mr. Pollard then introduced Mr. Kevin Moss who operates a similar facility in Grayslake. Mr. Moss said his location has had up to 70 dogs at one time and the dogs are divided in groups based on their activity level. He said the more active groups of dogs will have more employees overseeing them. He said the employees see these dogs at least once a week and they get to know each dog’s personality.

Trustee Garner asked how they would handle a bunch of worked up dogs.

Mr. Moss said if an altercation does occur the employees are trained on how to break it up. He said the employees look for certain cues so they can stop a problem before it happens.

Trustee Schwarz said up to 25 dogs might be staying the night and asked if an employee will be onsite with the dogs in case of something like a fire.

Mr. Moss said nobody stays with the dogs at night, however, the facility does have security equipment such as fire alarms and burglar alarms.

Trustee Schwarz asked how long the dogs are alone.

Mr. Kevin said from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Trustee Schwarz asked about Holiday and weekends.

Mr. Moss said regardless of if the facility is open to the public the employees still come in and each dog receives 6 hours of play daily.

It was moved by Trustee Balmes, seconded by Trustee Morris to approve of Ord. 2012 - 89 granting a Special Use Permit pursuant to the Gurnee Zoning Ordinance relating to a pet (dog) day care facility at 3880 Grove Avenue.

Reduce the letter/number height on ground signs from 8 inches to 6 inches for business name/logo and 3” for tag line

Clarify that in the Village Center District (Old Grand) ground signs with support posts constructed of materials compatible with the sign/building design are allowed

Correct Article reference and Board name

Insert adoption date of 2008 sign code

Questions:

Trustee Park asked if changing letter / number height to 6 inches is the correct number.

Ms. Velkover said we think 6 inches is the correct size however in some cases it might not work. For those cases a Minor Amendment would be required and that can be processed quickly.

Trustee Park asked if the area of the tagline is calculated into the sign area and if there is a limitation on the type of copy allowed for the tagline.

Ms. Velkover said yes, the tagline is included in the sign area calculations. She continued to say no changes have been proposed related to tagline type.

Trustee Ross asked if a flashing “Open” sign would be permitted.

Ms. Velkover said a flashing sign would be prohibited but a static sign would be OK adding the sign would be included in the overall square footage of signs.

Mayor Kovarik asked if any signs in a window be considered signage.

Ms. Velkover said yes.

Mayor Kovarik asked if there is a grace period or any grandfathering for stores that have the windows nearly completely blocked out with signage.

Ms. Velkover said this is an existing Ordinance and stated the temporary and permanent signage would be added together. She stated blacking out or frosting a window is allowed as it is not considered signage.

It was moved by Trustee Schwarz, seconded by Trustee Park to approve of Ord. 2012 - 90 amending provisions of the Gurnee Municipal Code Article 52 “Signs” and, by reference, the Gurnee Zoning Ordinance No. 80-29.

Roll call,

AYE: 6- Garner, Balmes, Morris, Schwarz, Ross, Park NAY: 0- None

ABSENT: 0- None

Motion Carried.

H. PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

I. EXECUTIVE SESSION

Adjournment to Executive Session

Recall to Order

The Village Attorney stated that tonight’s Executive Session will reference:

5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (21) Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed under this Act, whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06.

It was moved by Trustee Balmes, seconded by Trustee Ross to adjourn the meeting into Executive Session.

Roll call,

AYE: 6- Garner, Balmes, Morris, Schwarz, Ross, Park

NAY: 0- None

ABSENT: 0- None

Motion Carried.

Mayor Kovarik adjourned the meeting into Executive Session at 8:38p.m.

Mayor Kovarik recalled the meeting to order at 8:54 p.m.

PRESENT: 6- Garner, Balmes, Morris, Schwarz, Ross, Park

ABSENT: 0- None

Closing Comments

None.

Adjournment

It was moved by Trustee Balmes, seconded by Trustee Ross to adjourn the meeting.